Claudio hears, and believes that Hero is dead. He is distraught that he made an false accusation and he is even more upset that Hero’s dead. Leonato tells Claudio that for his punishment h must tell everyone that Hero is innocent and he must marry his niece. He gets to the church, prepared to marry the “masked woman” at the alter, when he finds out that it is Hero who is the “masked woman.”
Leonarto, I think was pressured into believing the worst of his daughter because it seemed that he couldn’t stand up to people in the village, as he thought that his social status would be effected by this. This means that he was more interested in saving face rather than sticking up for his own daughter, Hero. This would make him appear weak although he was a good father to Hero and an uncle to Beatrice. Hero would also seen like this as she refused to stand up for herself when she was accused of having an affair with Borachio, instead she decided that it would be easier if she “plays” dead, rather than speak up for herself. Which means that she suffers greatly in the play due to this factor. However Beatrice is completely the opposite of this, she is not afraid to speak her mind, and tell people what she thinks of them. I think that, even though Beatrice seems to be witty and sharp, she is quite vulnerable in the play. Also the fact that she does not seem to want to marry, makes it appear as though she does not want to get hurt, and submit her will to a controlling husband. Benedick appears to be a calming influence around the characters around him, act four scene 1 is a good reference to this as he refuses to judge Hero when Claudio was accusing her,
and Benedick wanted to know all the facts before making his decision whether Hero was guilty or not. Benedick has the same views of marriage as again, I think he is afraid to get hurt, just like Beatrice, but when he over hears Claudio and Don Pedro discussing Beatrice’s love for him, he quickly changes his mind and encourages marriage. He also seems to be a bit of an entertainer among others, I think this is a way to show his true feelings, such as “play fighting” with Beatrice for an example. Claudio however is not one to hide his feelings towards people, especially Hero. In act four scene one he makes the mistake of accusing Hero of something that she did not do, this is down to the fact that Claudio thinks whatever he sees or hears is true. This is a problem on its own as he thinks the worst of her before getting proof that it was indeed her.Act four; Scene One gives a clear impression of Elizabethan times. Women were clearly treated as second-class citizens. Men expected them to be demure, innocent and proper. Men were seen as being more important than women and were given more chances to succeed in a line of work, whereas women were expected to have no career after marriage. Instead, they were often left at home and were expected to be a good wife and mother. It was not a good idea for women in Elizabethan times to question their husbands or indeed any other male within their family. They had to do things they were told to do without making a fuss. Women usually were married off at an early age often for financial reasons to improve economic situations for the family. However for some women marriage was not always seen as a good thing, and sometimes girls were married off as young as 12 or 13 to men they didn’t like and could never love, but these girls did not have a choice, as their family picked their prospective husband for them due to financial reasons. In Act Four Hero is treated very badly particularly by Don John and Claudio. Don John specifically because he set out to destroy the marriage between her and Claudio. Claudio treated her wrongly because he didn’t trust her, and thought badly of her, even though Hero did deny all the claims against her. Leonato seemed to think Hero was guilty of the accusation due to the fact that Claudio claimed that he indeed saw her with Borachio at the window. She didn’t have a choice in whether she was guilty or not, the facts were against her. “O fate! Take not away thy heavy hand. Death is the fairest cover for her shame. That may be wish`d for” Act 4 scene 1Out of all the men who were present in Act Four, Benedick seemed to be the “peace-maker” between Claudio and Hero. Benedick tried to make sense out of all the information before he started accusing Hero. “sir, sir be patient. For my part, I am so attired in wonder, I know not what to say” Act 4 scene 1. I think the Friar is different to all of the other characters in that he doesn’t judge people on their social standing or wealth. He appears to provide a solution to the problem and almost appears to act as a counsellor trying to find the answer to the problem in front of him.
“When he shall hear she died upon his words, the idea of her life shall sweetly creep into the study of imagination………than when she lived indeed; then shall he mourn, if ever love had interest in his liver, and wish he had not so accused her” Act 4 scene 1 I think the treatment of Hero and other women in the play, was typical of Elizabethan times, men at that time did not think women were important and treated them accordingly. The treatment is not justified, as no person either male or female is any better than any one else. Hero was judged by some of the men before any of the facts had been proven. Beatrice is another woman who gets treated badly by the men in the play, due to the fact that she is loud and out-spoken, and she is not seen suitable for marriage.My conclusion to the attitudes of men towards women in the Elizabethan era is that, I think, Leonato felt pressured by the other men in the scene to not believe his daughter and to believe instead the lies told about her. Claudio, even though he loved Hero it was not enough for him to believe her, this tells us that in Elizabethan times men were more likely to believe another man rather a woman. This is very typical of the time as men and woman seemed to have different sets of morals all usually in the favour of the men. Women had very few rights if any and I think they had to work very hard at always acting in the proper and correct way or they could very easily get a very bad name for themselves. They not only had to think of their own reputation but that of their families who could loose their social standing if their daughters behaved inappropriately. “Not to be married, Not to knit my soul to an approved wanton.” Act 4 scene 1
